Introduction to Elden Ring Endings
Welcome to the ultimate Elden Ring endings guide this month. Even years after its initial launch, FromSoftware’s magnum opus continues to captivate millions of Tarnished across the globe. Whether you are diving into the Lands Between for the first time or preparing your character for the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, understanding the complex web of narrative choices is essential. The game features multiple distinct conclusions, each altering the fate of the realm and granting unique achievements or trophies.
Navigating these narrative paths can be daunting. The game does not hold your hand, and a single missed dialogue option or forgotten NPC questline can lock you out of your desired conclusion. This comprehensive breakdown will guide you through every major path available, ensuring you make the right choices to claim your place as the Elden Ring's new ruler.
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Understanding the Mechanics of Elden Ring Endings
Before diving into the specific paths, it is important to understand how the system works. In total, the game features six primary achievements tied to different conclusions. However, there are numerous subtle variations, particularly concerning the standard mending rune paths.
Crucially, Elden Ring save scumming is a popular strategy for achievement hunters. By backing up your save file to the cloud or a USB drive right before interacting with the final boss arena grace, you can witness multiple conclusions in a single playthrough. However, certain choices—such as inheriting the Frenzied Flame—can forcefully lock you into a specific path unless you take extreme corrective measures.
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The Standard Path: Age of Fracture
Age of Fracture: The Default Conclusion
The Age of Fracture is the default conclusion of the game. If you defeat the final boss without completing any major NPC side quests that yield special mending runes, this is the path you will automatically take.
To achieve this, simply touch the fractured Marika and choose the option to repair the Elden Ring. This preserves the current status quo, bringing a temporary peace to the Lands Between, though the underlying systemic issues that caused the Shattering remain unresolved. It is the baseline narrative experience and serves as a stark contrast to the more radical societal overhauls offered by other choices.
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The Mending Rune Paths
Exploring the Mending Rune Endings
By assisting specific characters throughout your journey, you can acquire specialized items known as Mending Runes. These are presented to Queen Marika alongside the Elden Ring to forge a new era for the world.
Age of the Duskborn
This path is tied to the sprawling, melancholic questline of Fia, the Deathbed Companion. By helping her and defeating Lichdragon Fortissax, you obtain the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. Choosing this option integrates those who live in death into the natural order, reshaping the Golden Order to accept the inevitability of death rather than attempting to banish it entirely.
Age of Order
If you prefer a world governed by absolute logic and immutable laws, you must follow the guidance of Goldmask and Brother Corhyn. This intellectual journey requires solving a riddle involving Radagon and Queen Marika. Upon completion, you receive the Mending Rune of Perfect Order, which purges the capricious nature of the Outer Gods and the Golden Order, replacing divine whims with rigid, rational perfection.
Blessing of Despair
Perhaps the darkest of the standard variations, this path is unlocked by completing the horrific questline of the Dung Eater. By feeding him Seedbed Bazaars, you acquire the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse. Using this item curses every single inhabitant of the Lands Between for generations to come, spreading the afflictions of the Omen race universally and creating a deeply unsettling, dystopian reality.
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The Radical Alternatives
Unlocking the Secret and Radical Endings
Beyond the mending runes, two radical paths completely subvert the traditional order of the world, offering vastly different cinematic conclusions and philosophical implications.
Age of the Stars
Widely considered the true "good" or secret path by the community, the Age of the Stars is tied to the beloved questline of Witch Ranni. Completing her sprawling journey—which takes you from Limgrave all the way to a hidden lunar plateau—grants you the Dark Moon Greatsword and allows you to summon her at the end of the game.
Instead of repairing the Elden Ring, you banish the influence of the Greater Will and the Golden Order from the Lands Between entirely. You and Ranni embark on a thousand-year voyage into the cold, dark night of the cosmos, replacing the oppressive divine rule with an era of freedom and distance.
Lord of Frenzied Flame
For those who wish to watch the world burn, the Lord of Frenzied Flame is the ultimate destructive path. By descending deep beneath the Leyndell capital into the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds and interacting with the Three Fingers, your body becomes branded by the Frenzied Flame.
Choosing this path results in Melina abandoning you (or worse, swearing to hunt you down), and your character incinerates the entire world in a chaotic fire, burning away all distinctions and suffering until only melting chaos remains. If you wish to undo this fate, you must complete Millicent's exceptionally complex questline, defeat Malenia, and use Miquella's Needle inside Dragonlord Placidusax’s arena before facing the final boss.
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Tips for Your Playthrough This Month
As you tackle the game this month, keep these expert tips in mind to ensure a smooth completion:
- Always exhaust NPC dialogue until they repeat themselves before moving to a new region.
- Be cautious when progressing major bosses, as doing so can prematurely fail certain side quests.
- Check online progress trackers if you are aiming for a specific achievement-heavy run.
- Prepare your character thoroughly if you intend to challenge the optional bosses required for secret paths, such as Lichdragon Fortissax or Dragonlord Placidusax.
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